Settling
by Zkname
Summary: Dante's been questioning himself in the direction of his future or maybe he's just tired of his bedside being cold. -Harem- (Short Story)


READ-READ-READ-READ

BEFORE CONTINUING!

AN:

I know that that the recent Devil May Cry game is a reboot in the series and that it is in a completely different world then the current present storyline. What I'm doing is making it seem that DMC had occurred before DMC3. I'm going to make it seem that the Dante in DMC was around the age of 16-17 in the original Canon. In all due honesty that's how old I see this new Dante really being. If you'll are gonna be asking me then how did he get into all those clubs and stuff at 16.

I'll say ya'll ever heard of fake IDs and shit?

Also this is a little side project for me and going to keep it relatively short, five chapter's tops.

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Luck and women….

Were never said in the same sentence in the half demon's longevity of life…

It was bizarre and baffling in itself that the idea even sprung up in his head…

Dante the son of Sparda blinked several times as he stared at his ceiling as his old fan spun slowly overhead. The shop was relatively quiet and the only thing making noise was the small tiny creaks that fan made every now and then. His icy blue flicked back to the magazine in his hands as it showed the latest models in indecent wear. He was in his black button up shirt and dark leather slacks. His pose classically portrayed as he leaned back in his chair and his black boots were present on top of his desk. Not one thing was on that desk other than a phone, a picture, a shot glass and a bottle of Jack.

The shops lights buzzard slightly every now and then, along with the neon sign he had above his front door to let everyone know the name of his business. Really when it was this late he'd be in bed, talking a stripper back to his bed, or having quite a bit to drink. It was deathly quiet in this place.

He let out another sigh as he flipped the page and a woman's bare chest came into view with a bunny outfit on display. He gave an appreciative whistle as he flipped the page on its side so he could get a better view. Despite him trying his hardest he just couldn't get his kicks like he used to when he was younger staring at these mags. Lately these days he's been feeling pretty damn old, but who could blame with the countless fiasco he's been dragged and all the mess he's had to clean over other people's problems. With a grimace he flicked the magazine into the trash bin and accepted that he had been defeated. It was true his youth was leaving him; the whores also stopped being fun a couple years or so back. He dreaded to admit it but he had long since had come to terms that the empty fucks were now just…. Empty.

With his hands behind his head as he continued to stare at the ceiling his whole day for the most part had been women. Why you may ask? Because hours prior he had been surprised by two visits from his past. A walking scarred up devil hunter that liked shooting anything that wasn't human and a blond diva that was apathetic as the frost of a winter night. Dante hadn't talked to Lady in quite a while; there relationship had been bumpy ever since their rump in between the sheets. She at least had the decency not to call him where she was going nor for how long as the next morning after their first and only time she was gone from his bed. Next thing you know a year and half goes by, she breaks his door open and she extends her arm out like glutton beggar while saying he 'owed' her.

Needless to say ever since then the white haired devil keeps his distance from her. Man that was ages ago though, all that happen two years after the incident with her father and Vergil. He liked to believe they were friends, he spends time off with her once a blue moon but still some interaction better than none. One thing he defiantly doesn't do with her anymore is flirt. The awkwardness between them disappeared with time and they were back on common ground since god knows how long ago, but that knife wound is still felt if you shrug just the right way no matter how long it had been pulled out.

Lady….

In the time when they were always in each other's presence. She was the one who showed him in depth his humanity. To take pride in it and not be frail for it. She loathes devils like no other however and as human as he appeared all she saw was what was always beneath his skin, his other side. The was always a feeling of caution aimed towards him with a finger on a trigger pointed at the back of his head in case he ever got too crazy. He guessed that morning when she woke and realized she had just had sex with him, all she saw was a devil in the sheets and must have been disgusted with both him and herself.

Dante was never a man to second guess himself nor was ever really self-conscious of anything. Lady's scrutiny however did often make him question himself if he was any different from the screeching hordes he goes out and slays. That caution had dimmed down over the years but he still feels the smallest fragments of remnants when he's with her and perhaps she can still probably feel his resentment for it.

A coin was flicked from his fingers and he caught effortlessly in his palm. Opening his hand and holding it with his index finger and thumb he inspected it. It was a double sided coin with the silhouette of the second woman who made a big impact on his life.

Trish..

A blond buxom babe who was a mirror image of his mother. Well if his mother was ever into leather and liked being categorized on the same level as someone who appears to be a stripper on her time off then most defiantly yes.

She may carry the same face but her eyes and demeanor damn sure ain't. After Lady disappeared from her long year hiatus in she walked flicking her long blond angelic hair and before he knew it she was paltering him with bullets. He stunned when she strongly resembled his mother and when she disappeared there wasn't a moment's hesitation in chasing after her.

After putting Mundus down for a second time and all that jazz was put in the dust bin. He found himself a roommate, who didn't pay rent, ate his food, bitched him out for being lazy despite her not doing shit either, and often slept in the same bed. Reflecting back on those days, the half devil wouldn't lie he could just go back. Maybe then he could have convinced her not to go out and explore the world and just stay with him. He could have had the courage to so say those very words before she stepped out. Since then their relationship was odd, as things are typically normal between devil couples. It was one big on again off again affair and if Dante's hair wasn't already white it sure as shit would have been.

She'd come in at odd periods of his life, throw her shit in her room always reserved for her since Dante always know she'll be back. Stay a couple months leave a couple weeks come back, stay, leave, stay, leave. She was like a god damn cat, coming and going as she pleases. Dante was never a pet owner but if someone were to ask him if he preferred dogs or cats he'd defiantly say he liked dogs better.

If you'd ask 'well why put up with her then?'….

Because the sex was so damn good, as was the warmth of her body next to his.

Without trying to be any more creepy or make the situation more awkward but she reminded him of his mother, no just her face but when he held Trish she carried the same warmth he felt in his mother as a boy.

Unlike Lady, Trish was the one who made Dante appreciate his blood as a devil. The scorn he had for himself that just escalated with the wounds Lady left behind was finally lifted thanks to her. She was the one who taught him to take pride in his lineage as devil and be reminded that not all devils are pure evil at heart. It was funny he taught her humanity she taught him demonology. He never woke up with her missing from his bed after a night of having sex, nor did she ever give him a look of disgust when he transformed into his other self when things became a little to heated in battle. It was thanks to Trish that Dante finally truly accepted himself as both a human and a devil.

As the years passed on, she was no longer his on again off again partner. Now when she disappeared for a while Dante just tells people his partner would be back after a short notice when he gets new applicants trying to win that role. Something that puts a smile on the blonds face despite the white devil never seeing it.

On a half note..

He's notice she hasn't been leaving anymore or as much as she used too.

Shaking his head off he flicked the coin back unto to the desk table and sat up straight. Currently she wasn't in her room or in the shop but she said she'd be back tomorrow. She'd recently come in that morning to announce her return after a month out doing a job. Something about her bike needing some fine tuning on the opposite side of town. He asked her why not just let him fix it up but she laughed and said she wanted to give a crack after all the times watching him do it.

That made him reflect on the odd meeting with Lady later that evening, even more bizarre that it didn't regard a job or information on certain type of demons. Apparently business for her had plummeted and she was getting hassled by her landlord. That surprised him, she was very good with money and she was never short changed in anytime that he could recall. Long story short she just needed to crash for a couple days in order to get back on her feet and she didn't need to dig herself deeper in debt by staying in her complex.

Whatever unease she had felt was washed away when Dante merely flicked an old key to the shop and her room at Lady. It was the same one she left behind the day she disappeared. The wild haired huntress was surprised this thing even existed as memories of when they were partners flashed through her head.

"Still the same room, same spot, you might want to clean it up though I don't think anyone's been in there for years now"

The man replied nonchalantly as he flicked the page of a biker magazine and leaned further back on his chair. He never glanced at her but he saw the outlines of smile on her lips he chose not to comment on it and the conversation ended with a small thanks as she walked out. She was moving in tomorrow.

Which would explain his current ponderings his future was taking and whether or not it was time to settle down. Those were words he thought he'd never consider but hey every man comes to this age eventually. Some get stricken by it early, and others not till their 40 and greying. A much as he hated to say it he was reaching his mid-thirties and by Jove he was tired. Dante never wanted kids and to this day he prays on all five horizons he never does but for some reason he felt like he could hear his mother tell him to just park down already.

Women and Luck just weren't his forte…

Sorry mama but it ain't happening…

Standing up and serving himself one last glass on the rocks, he began walking towards the door. He guessed there really was no business at two in the morning but hey least he tried to make a quick buck. Going over to shut off the neon sign outside he gulped down his glass and wiped off his mouth as he put the glass back on his desk.

"Ah did I just miss it."

Dante's eyes shot up like rockets as he quickly turned around and was surprised to see someone he hadn't in a very long time. There coming in with a pair of jeans tan shirt under a brown zip up hoody with the middle open. The star on her forehead every present and her short brown hair tilted to the side. Her green vibrant glowing eyes were just like he remembered them. She was eyeing him up and down as he was her both trying to believe it was who the other was thinking.

"Dante! Oh my god your hair got so long!"

"…Kat?"

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"Explain to me again why exactly your moving in?"

"Oh for Christ sakes I said it like five times already didn't I?"

It was a warm morning with blue skies as two women walked down a cobblestone road.

"Well refresh me"

"I'm almost outta money and if I stay at the place I'll be even more out of money"

"And you chose Dante to be the one to help you?"

"What so god damn weird about that?"

"Well I never recall you ever coming to seek his aid for anything other than a demon you couldn't cut or a monster you needed information on"

"Well I'm really in the hole these days alright"

"Yes and I presume all these boxes of materials and cloths just screamed that you've tried everything"

"Tch, Trish do you perhaps not want me to come in on whatever you two got going on?"

A light hearted laugh escaped said woman's lips.

"Oh please hun I lived with this man for years now and I sleep on his bed more than mine, I'm sure you'll disrupt nothing"

"What!? You've never mentioned that before"

"Well excuse me I simply presumed you would have no interest in that shillyshally"

"How long has this been going on?"

"I lost track how long ago it was, why? Does it fill you with envy?"

"As if"

The blond chose not to comment how the huntress looked just a tad bit more displeased by that information or how the box she was carrying was being clutched a far lot harder than before. The buxom devil also found herself curious as to why she needed to put that information out before this lady became a resident of her home.

"So the streets or Dante, is that what it takes for you to accept his offers?"

"I don't know, you tell me"

Ok now the kittens were showing their claws…

There was a long pause with both women being tight lipped as they walked towards the ever familiar sign. Right before they reached the door they paused and both began snickering before full on laughing.

"It's good your finally moving in"

"Yeah, yeah don't get your hopes up though this is just temporary"

"Oh I'm sure it is, which would explain we we're moving everything you own in here"

Lady ignored her as she opened the door with her in toe and they both halted where they stood. In front of them was Dante on the couch along with a woman in black sweats and a white T shirt barefoot like she had spent the night. She was chatting with Dante until she noticed them and Dante merely let his head hang from the couch to stare back.

Lady felt a twitch in her eye as she felt an old annoying feeling resurface. It was far dimmer than her counterparts as she could sworn there most defiantly was some electricity in the air. Trish narrowed her eyes at them and for that half demon's sake it had better not be what she thought it was. Since she bedded the demon oh so many years ago, he had never ran into the arms of another female. When she went on her very long hiatus however and returned. She detected the scent of another woman on his bed. Let's just say he learned never to do that again as she marked over that scent with hers that very same night. Since then he's been faithful and she's never had that problem occur.

Seeing where this was going the man knew not to press nor tease the woman about how this all looked.

"Girls meet Kat, Kat meet the girls, there your new roommates"

"…."

/

"Wow Dante she looks just like your mother"

The woman said as she sipped on her water and eyed over her features. Trish smiled as she inwardly felt a small twinge of annoyance at the reference.

"Yeah…"

"So you two knew each other when you were 16"

"Yeah, he used to have short hair back then is why he surprised me"

The girl brought out a photo and Lady's eyes widened in disbelief. Trish leaned over in her spot on the desk to get a better view. In the center was Dante, the sides of his hair were short but up top was obviously longer. He had a grey tank top on and a black coat. The biggest eyesore was that his hair was black and he looked far more human. Next to him was far less developed woman than her current state but otherwise was Kat. Something that shocked them as well was who was on Dante's left. In a black dress overcoat and blue slacks with light blue dress shoes was Dante's brother. His hair slicked back and he was offering a small smile.

"You knew Vergil?"

"..Yeah"

The answer was sullen and it was easy to tell she was deep in thought. Dante leaned back in his chair and looked at the photo. He appeared to have same lost eyes the girl did as he stared into the photo. Lady was a purple T shirt and dark jeans getting her things sorted. Trish was swinging her legs from the end of the desk she sat on. The girls situation was similar to hers. She was attending college and teaching demonic barriers and wards to fend of various fiends. When she heard of devil hunter by the name of Dante in town she went through highs and lows to find his shop to see if really was the boy she knew oh so many years ago.

After dealing with Mundus, Limbo, and Vergil. Kat and Dante paired up for a good year before Kat left to study abroad. He showed her his shindig before she left and she was irked by how beaten down the place looked. It was an old bar that went under and since it was so dingy it hardly had any buyers.

"Still Dante you've really changed the place around, I can't believe it's the same place you showed all those years ago"

"Yeah, took some time but I made the old girl shine"

True to his words the place looked far better for ware. She found it amusing he made a small bar section in the back with its own counter and several bottles behind it varying in many different forms of alcohol. He had a pool table further up and a jukebox in at the left hand corner. With a little coffee table with a couch in front of it in the center. All in all it came a long way from being that dust covered, wood splintered, beaten down pub she recalled.

"Hey don't tell you actually got that old thing to play?"

Dante stood and gave a small smirk.

"She runs like beaut"

Kat smiled as stood next to him.

"God you got so tall"

"Did I?"

"Say whatever happened to him?"

She asked as she stared at the old photo of the three of them that now laid on the desk.

"He chose the direction he always treaded on"

"So he's gone?"

"…."

The man knew his brother was just as sore subject as he was to him. He was the one after all that saved her all those years ago from whatever nightmare she was living in. Kat gave her undying trust and loyalty towards him, he had no doubt she admired Vergil to no end. So it came with a heavy weight when they both found out the truth of his plans after the fall of Mundus and his limbo infested world. He was going to take his place in his mythical throne now that the old king had perished and continued the demonic with a new heir in the chair this time. They were both shocked when they heard his true intentions and that's when their brotherhood dwindled into nothing as their blades clashed against one another for the very first time.

He almost killed his brother that day, his dormant demonic powers finally came into fruition fighting his brother. His black hair turned snow white and the blood in his veins took a very different turn. He recalled digging the rebellion deep into his brother chest and his blood inflamed with a rage. It was only Kat's begging that brought him back and it was then that he knew that she truly loved Vergil. After his brother disappeared she stayed with him in an old building they rented out together. It was like that for a good while with her going to school and him doing odd various jobs.

Somewhere along the lines Dante saw that he could mix slaying demons and work into one, as a form of revenue. That was the birth of one of the most well-known mercenary in dealing with the undead and Satan spawns. It was also around the same time Kat was getting applications on scholarships to go to Europe and further her knowledge. They eventually came to a cross roads in their lives, they both knew they were going in opposite directions. The devil wished her luck at the airport on the last day she was there, they exchanged an awkward and hesitant kiss. Maybe that's why he took Lady's absence from his bed in stride along with her year or so long trip away. After all it wasn't the first time a woman left him sprinting full speed to get as far away from him after spending a night in his arms. The sex between them was just as awkward whenever they did it, despite how oblivious they were towards it when they went at it like a rabbits. The haze of teenage hormones and skin, just made them lose sight of anything else.

Women and Luck just don't exist in Dante's dictionary…

"Dante!"

The man blinked out of his musings as the ever outspoken huntress finally caught his attention. Lady was calling him over to help her with the rest of the boxes still at the door towards her room. Her Heterochromiatic eyes staring inquisitively at him. He walked over and took care of the three boxes she was struggling to hold while effortlessly walked them up the stairs, leaving Lady with some chagrin. As he walked out of sight both girls turned to the new one.

"Being high school pals and all is fine but what made you want to live here?"

"…It's nice being with someone you had a connection regardless of how long ago it was don't you think?"

"Huh?..."

"I have no family, or anyone close enough to be considered that, but when I lived with Dante all those years ago, I guess you could say I felt as close to that as I ever got"

Both women understood what she meant

"I was going to find the cheapest pad I could down here, teaching doesn't pay much even if its college. I went by some local venues and found people having some trouble with lower demons. That's when I heard Dante's name get popped up and I remembered he had a place in these parts. I was just going to step in and say hi but after he heard my dilemma he offered me a room"

Trish and Lady stared at one another briefly before sighing realizing that devil was quite the numbskull. Trish stood up and walked over to the boxes as did Lady. They both began helping move things on Kat's side of the aisle. The white haired devil came back as he leaned against the wall an arm propped up as he quirked an eyebrow up. Both women dug their elbow into him playfully when they saw the all too familiar smirk on his face when he knew something they didn't.

It was his way of saying…

I told you so

Icy blue eyes met glowing green as they both smiled to one another as the girls retreated out of sight. Both knowing they had so much to say to the other on life experiences and adventures. There was so much they wanted to discuss, where they've been, who they know, what they've, where they've treaded, what they've climbed, the ups, the downs and the all arounds….

For now the half devil mused as he cradled more boxes up the stairs. He could start by at least letting her get settled. With all the boxes now in a once vacant room, he stared at the room and stared at the dust that littered the room. A strong ray of light shining through the curtains as it made a straight line across most of the boxes. Dante gave the room one more once over before dusting his hands off and closing the door. That was the last empty room to his place, and it was finally a room he no longer owned nor was probably allowed ever to go back in again.

"Women and luck huh?"

A half snort escaped him for even bringing up the thought.

"As if, I told you it ain't happening didn't I ma?"

If someone were staring at the picture that was always on Dante's desk right now, they have said the grin in the picture was getting wider or maybe that just their eyes going crazy.


End file.
